A group of our Year 8 children enjoyed a great STEM day on Monday, visiting the Formula 1 Williams Headquarters. Here's our first-hand account...

We started the day by teambuilding, in groups of four and five. We were told to program robots and create our own logo and brand. We then took a tour of one of the largest F1 car collections in the world, learning about how the company started, the aerodynamics of the car and what the cars were built from. We then finished a brilliant day with a Formula One simulator, racing against friends and teachers!

By Wilf

We were wowed by some of the brilliant entries for our Years 5 and 6 Challenge Awards this week. From painstakingly crafted dioramas to carefully sketched posters, all of the children put so much effort into their projects, which scanned across a breadth of subjects. We hope you have had the chance to look through the entries, which are still on display in the PAC Foyer.

We've reached the end of our first full week, and what a week it's been! The halls have been buzzing with energy, and tonight, as we prepare for our first Friday boarding night of the term, we're looking forward to a full house.

It's been a joy to welcome new faces to the Boarding House, both among our staff and our children. We're excited to introduce Liz, Deanna, and Miss Maher to our evening team. Their expertise and enthusiasm will undoubtedly enrich our boarding experience. Deanna now joins us on Tuesday evenings, alongside Liz and Miss Maher, who will be lending their support to our Year 8s on Wednesdays.

The activities have followed a similar pattern to last week. Tennis, Wachy Special and BoB have been enjoyed to the fullest. The love our boarders have for the grounds is wonderful to see. The Summer Term seems to bring out the competitive nature of the teachers, whose jubilation or misery shows their investment in the games taking place. Likewise, the loudest cheers always come when a teacher is bowled out, beaten or caught!

In addition to the excitement of our activities, we've been conducting our boarding survey this week, eagerly listening to the children's feedback on their favourite aspects of boarding and their suggestions for improvement. While we may not be able to accommodate every request (TVs in the dorms, anyone?), we're committed to enhancing the boarding experience based on their input. Expect to see music in the mornings, additional mirrors, and adjustments to our evening routine to allow for more engaging activities.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend ahead!

Oli and Debbie Jones, Houseparents

Our Reception children went on a wonderful excursion to Slimbridge last week, to kick start their unit about Country to Continent. They received a postcard from Paddington Bear, asking them all about their local area, so they went off to explore some of our flora and fauna through this trip. The children behaved beautifully and the teachers were proud of the questions they asked and the manners they displayed. As we move forward with the unit, the children will zoom out to explore places around the world – staying in touch with Paddington throughout, of course!

Across the Pre-Prep, we have been delving into our units of learning, asking questions and capturing these for our Wonder Walls. Nursery have been asking questions about where wool comes from and exploring properties of materials; Year 1 have been asking questions inspired by their link to Charles Darwin last week; Year 2 have been asked to create a documentary about animals and are working collaboratively to decide what episodes should be included – they are keen to include one about habitats and another on food chains.

In our Thursday assembly this week, we welcomed Miss Hobbs, Head of Pre-Prep Sport, who spoke to the children about ‘Me in PE’. This term, the attitudes children are focusing on are: 'I am determined' and 'I am supportive'.

Along with multisensory letter formation, developing our sketching skills, exploring fractions and practising times tables, it has been a busy week as usual here in Pre-Prep!

Anna Packman, Head of Pre-Prep

On Tuesday, we enjoyed a special themed lunch in celebration of St George's Day. Our catering team decorated the Dining Room, and decorated desserts were wolfed down with pork and leek sausages, mashed potato, vegetables and Yorkshire puddings. We hope the children enjoyed it!

On Tuesday, 30th April from 7.00pm, we welcome back Dr Ashish Bhatia who will be hosting a virtual talk on sleep. In addition to being an NHS GP who teaches at the Bristol Medical School, Dr Bhatia is also the founder of Really Well Being. Ashish has very kindly agreed to speak to our school community to provide information and advice on sleep for all of us. A link to join the talk will be emailed soon.

We are excited that the Truly Madlys will be performing at Beaudesert Park on Friday, 10th May 2024 from 7pm to 9pm.

This Stroud-based band will be performing a fusion of lyrical, rhythmic, immersive, and melodic art-rock. The Truly Madlys started as a musical collaboration between lockdowns, and fully formed two years ago. Since then, they have been wowing audiences with their own brand of melodic art rock, with original songs written by vocalist Tessa McGinn and arranged by the band – lead guitarist Ade Miller, Martin Whittaker on keyboards, Barry Mason on drums, and Pablo Sanchez Moreno on bass.

Tickets are £10, children U16 go free.

Book Tickets

As the first ball of the season was thrown on Tuesday this week, we are looking forward to our Alumni Wachy Special Match on Saturday, 18th May 2024 from 2.00pm to 4.30pm.

Please do pass the message on to any former pupils you may know who might like to take a trip down memory lane with some of their friends, family and former teachers. The match will be followed by a Wachy 'match tea'. Spectators are also more than welcome to come and watch the match.

If you know someone who would like to join us, please RSVP.

RSVP for Wachy Special